It's Not Like You Care About Me
by thewaywelove
Summary: Derek Hale has returned to Beacon Hills to claim his family home. He's tired of running from his past. His lonely heart feels like no one cares. But then someone comes around and starts wrapping herself around his heart.
1. Chapter 1

**It's Not Like You Care About Me (Derek Hale & Lydia Martin)**

_"The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else." ― Carson McCullers_

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Chapter 1

Fire. Smoke. Death.

Lydia Martin flinched at the thought of those three words.

She was going to die. The thought seemed almost a comfort at this point. Dying meant she would no longer feel pain. All she had to do was close her eyes and let her body drift away.

"Hey, stay with me" an unfamiliar voice broke through the silence of her thoughts. "You're going to be ok." She felt someone shaking her shoulders as her head bobbed up and down harshly, her arms and hands hanging loosely on the side of her body, almost like those of a rag doll. There was a loud shattering noise and her skin was pelted with a shower of sharp shards that seem to embed themselves anywhere they made contact. Her throat felt too dry and was too hurt at this point for her to scream, so all that erupted from her mouth were soft and subdued complaints

The air was filled with a bunch of curse words from the stranger, he hadn't thought to shield her when he'd broken through the glass of the car and now he was reprimanding himself for it. His sole mission was to get this girl out of the green BW that was engulfed in flames and to a safe place. The task was almost completed, except she wasn't out of the clear yet. As a being not entirely of the normal world, the stranger had supernatural senses, and these signaled to him that her heart was beating too quickly- it was comparable to a hummingbird's- and then suddenly that noise which he'd been relying on like a compass to signal that she was alive stopped. Her heart had stopped.

"No!" his cry of protest sounded loudly in his head. He felt taken aback by the whirlwind of emotions that hit him like a kick to the stomach. A spark of fire burned really strong during that second and he brusquely pulled her "lifeless" body out of the car. He felt a few hairs on the back of his neck got singed by the flames, but other than that he hadn't gotten hurt. His mind however, was a complete wreck. Fire wasn't a friend of Derek Hale's, his family had succumbed to it, therefore it was a symbol of death and pain. He felt as powerless and defeated as he had when his sister Laura, had delivered the news of their parents ill fate.

"Don't give up now, Derek," he heard his sister's voice in his head. "It's not like you to quit. Hales never quit"

Derek promptly removed his jacket and glanced back once at the car that had exploded by this time. He rolled his jacket into a ball, used it as a pillow to prop her head up and he began to administer CPR. (It was at this moment that he was grateful that he'd worked as a lifeguard during his sophmore year in high school.) He tried to pound lightly on her chest and then attempted to breathe life into her.

Lydia by this time had lost all feeling. Her body was so cold and numb and she wasn't aware of her surroundings. A black cloak of emptiness cloaked around her and she wasn't aware of what was and wasn't real. Then her icy hands felt heat on them. She was burning, it had to be that. "I'm burning," she panicked and then her mouth opened so she could grasp a mouthful of air.

"Oh," her lips met his for a brief moment and she felt some of the pain dissolve for a nanosecond.

She isn't a quitter-Derek thought to himself as he pulled his hands away from hers and checked on her breathing.

"You're alive," he felt a compulsion to hug her head to his chest, just to get some more heat to her freezing body. He became wrapped up in the moment and did just that. If he had to justify it to himself later, he'd have to say that he was celebrating the triumph of having saved the life of a complete stranger.

"I..what," she was dazed and confused by the pain that began to flood her body. her hands clutched at his shirt in an eager desperation. he decided to ignore that and focused on pulling shards of glass from her arms and he helped her lay back softly. As this happened, sirens began sounding and the pitch black part of the forest was illuminated by red and blue flashing lights."Thank you," she managed to choke the words from a very cottony mouth. "No one I know would have cared enough to risk their life for me."

"It's not about caring," Derek shrugged off her words. "I wasn't trying to be a hero."

"Heroes," she coughed and as she did so, some blood sputtered out from her mouth. "Heroes are never heroes on purpose."

"I have to go," Derek's lips trembled, in admiration of the girl, who despite everything she had endured, wasn't panicking or had shed a single tear. She'd stayed focused. When he'd approached teh scene, she was busy trying to untangle her seatbelt from her leg.

"Please don't go," she pleaded. "You can't leave me here like this. I don't..."

"Don't think you'll make it?" Derek reverted to his cold facade. "You're going to make it. Help is on the way."

"I don't even know your name." the thought lingered in the air as he gave her a once over. He touched her side and watched her wince painfully. She might have a few broken ribs and her pretty body was going to be marked with bruises everywhere.

"Why does it matter?" Derek looked away from her and then started running away into the dark cloak of night.

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_Author's Note: I used to write a fanfiction with this title (pairing Tyler & Caroline from Vampire Diaries) but I've decided to change the story around and try to write this fic in a somewhat Teen Wolf AU World. I hope that you all like it and if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Thanks so much for stopping by to read this. I really appreciate it._


	2. Chapter 2

**It's Not Like You Care About Me (Derek Hale & Lydia Martin)**

_"People always complain about their memories, never about their minds." _  
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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Chapter 2

**Running can only get you so far-**

Derek Hale knew that better than anyone. He'd been running for the past five years, trying to get away from the skeletons in his closet, the dark thoughts that ran through his mind, the burning anger that cursed through his veins every time he remembered what Kate Argent and her family had done to those he loved.

His former home had been burned,while Derek and his sister Laura were at school- they'd found that everything they had valued dearly was gone in the blink of an eye. At first Derek thought that going away would help him forget, but he'd later found that running was making him remember every day what had happened. His naive curiosity had made him easy prey for the attractive and much older hunter woman and he'd led his family straight into a trap that outed them as werewolves.

Yes, werewolves. The Hale family was a tight knit circle of shape shifters, a natural born wolf pack. Derek never questioned what he was, but he'd never wanted to shed his werewolf identity more than after the tragic incident that had claimed the lives of his mother, father, and several other family memebers. It was almost as if he'd wanted to jump out of his own skin, to outrun who he more he ran the more he could remember that he was anything but heroic.

He'd never felt as bad as he did that night until now that he was running away from the girl that he'd rescued. Leaving her there alone wasn't like him, but since Derek had just come back that afternoon, he couldn't risk sticking around and having the police trying to make a connection with the girl's car fire and his family's accident. It was a horrible coincidence that the girl that he'd saved had been about to burn to death. It was a mystery to him what could have happened that would have even put her in the woods in a burning car, but he hadn't even questioned it then. As soon as he had come upon the scene, he'd reacted. And now as he ran away from the scene, he felt his hair stand on end and his chest tightened at the thought that he could have been too late and the girl would have perished under the strong flames.

_Heroes are never heroes on purpose..._ Her words replayed in his mind as he made his way back to the remains of what was once his beloved family home. Once he was inside the dark ruins, he let out a wolf cry that could be heard throughout the perimeter.

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I killed someone.

Jackson Whittemore dropped to his knees, holding his head back in desperation. His mind was racing as was his pulse, he was quickly becoming more and more agitted. His mountain bike lay at his side, bent in an awkward position, a metal corpse, so to speak. It was ironic how Lydia Martin's car hadn't scraped it. She'd veered off the road to avoid hitting Jackson.

Jackson didn't stop to help her. He wasn't a coward, but he also wasn't a hero. He'd triggered his family's shapeshifting curse, which was different than the lycanthropy (werewolf) curse. To trigger his shape shifting curse, he had to kill someone. As hed ridden into the woods, he called 911 in a panic, but I'd become clear that she wouldn't make it. He was doomed. He could already feel his bones beginning to rearrange themselves. As he braced himself for a world of pain, his ears managed to hear what seemed like a pained wolf cry.

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"I .Don't. Remember."

Lydia felt like pulling her hair out at that moment. She dug her nails into the white sheets on her hospital bed and then proceeded to stare blankly into her father's eyes. Her dad hated awkward silences and since he always blamed Lydia's mother for the slightest thing that went wrong, she figured it would take about 2 minutes for him to give up and leave her to recover in silence and go argue with her mother.

"Lydia," her name left his lips in a venomous whisper that rattled it's way into her ears. "Car and hospital insurances do not accept 'I can't remember' as an explanation to what caused your crash."

"So you suppose they'd accept the story of some guy running in front of my car in the middle of the woods then?" Lydia rolled her eyes in desperation. She knew her father wouldn't believe her, but that was exactly what had sent her car spinning wildly out of control in the woods.

"Suppose I believe you," Mr. Martin crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. "What exactly were you doing at the Beacon Hills Reserve, Lydia?"

"Research." she blurted out.

"Research?" Mr. Martin's eyebrows rose slightly. "You had to drive into the middle of the woods, in the dark of night, to do some research? Lydia, I may have been an idiot when I decided to marry your mother, but you can't honestly expect me you."

"I overheard McCall and Stilinski talk about hearing a wolf howling in the woods," Lydia breathed in deeply. She knew she shouldn't have opened her mouth and told her dad about why she'd gone in the woods.

"So if McCall and Stilinski talk about bungee jumping, you'll try it out to see if it's safe?" he mocked her.

"Dad, there haven't been wolves in Beacon Hills in about 60 years. I was there to prove those idiots wrong ! Besides, Friday night with the girls was turning out to be extremely boring. I tried Dad, I really try to get along with your business partners' daughter , but she wanted to spend all day watching beauty pageant videos. I..."

Lydia decided that it wasn't worth explaining to her dad. He was perfectly content with having a daughter that didn't get .Lydia wasn't someone who problems though. She had seen a stranger running around through the woods. She'd avoided hitting him, but then her car had hit the as she waited in the drivers seat for her fiery death, she was certain that shed heard a wolf howl.

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A/N: ok so to recap : Jackson's family has as curse on them in which, if they kill someone then they turn into a shapeshifting creature...could be a wolf or other animal...Derek's family was killed in a house fire(like on the show)and he's come back to the ruins of his house and that's how he stumbled upon Lydia in the woods. Lydia was in the woods because Stiles and Scott were talking about having heard a wolf howling...prior to Derek coming to Beacon Hills..dun,dun, dun. I hope that you're not too confused and that you keep reading. Please leave comments, good or bad, I wanna read them. Happy New Years, btw


	3. Chapter 3

**It's Not Like You Care About Me (Derek Hale & Lydia Martin)**

Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.**  
Yousuf Karsh**

**Chapter 3  
**

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**A few days after the accident**

"Surprise, it's us," Scott McCall walked into Lydia's hospital room carrying a teddy bear and some pink balloons. Behind him, Stiles Stilinski was in the doorway, his gigantic bear had gotten stuck and he was struggling to make his way in.

"I am so glad you are ok," Stiles was saying from behind his oversized teddy bear. "Seriously if something bad had happened to you, I don't know what I would have done. Which leads to my next question, What do you think you were doing out in the woods at night?" his voice had gone up in volume and he didn't seem to care about the fact that they were in a hospital and he was almost screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I'm fine," Lydia struggled to prop herself up on her bed to watch with an amused look as Stiles managed to push the bear through the door. He almost landed on the floor in front of her bed in a tangle of mess and arms, but it was so like Stiles to move around awkwardly that she didn't think anything of it.

"Oh you guys, " Lydia beamed weakly."What are you doing here...if my dad finds out you're here, he won't be happy at all and ," she paused and coughed, " I have a reputation to uphold. Hanging out with you dorks ..."

"Hey," Scott protested and laughed as Stiles' face turned bright red in anger. "You don't really mean that do you," he gave Lydia his best puppy dog pout.

Lydia thought about her answer for a second. She hadn't really stopped to consider whether she was really friends with Scott and Stiles. In fact, the only reason they'd started hanging out was because they'd been grouped together in journalism class to work on a project. She found them utterly awkward and often nerdy, but they were the closest thing she had to real friends. They were two of the only people who she'd let all the way in-she didn't know why, but she trusted them.

"Maybe I do mean it or maybe I don't,"Lydia smiled at both of them. "I really appreciate you being here . As you can see, no one has really dropped by to see how I am. Apparently, I'm like a leper now. I'm the girl that parents will warn their 'kids' to stay away from. I'm worse than a Teen Mom girl."

"Oh, Lydia," Scott scooted his chair closer to her bedside. "You're always a drama queen. But you know you can count on us right?" he turned to Stiles who was again, looking jealous about the attention Scott was paying to Lydia

"Sorry to burst your 'I love you' party guys, but we have a radio show to air, " Stiles voice was a little low and harsh, his feelings a little hurt. He set the bear down in the middle of the hospital room and pointed to the black backpack slung on Scott's back. "We can't record 'Lydia After Dark" without our star. I brought all the equipment so that we can record your broadcast here from the comfort of your hospital room."

"That's why you're here?" Lydia chuckled and absentmindedly tapped her fingernails on the table at her beside her bed.

"our broadcast goes on Friday nights no matter what," Stiles gave her a serious look and he set the laptop on the table. "We promised, right. We are not going to let," he winced as he examined her injuries," a few bruised ribs and scrapes get in the way of it. You're a trooper. Your audience awaits you."

"Stiles, shut up," Scott poked at his best friends ribs. "maybe we should have asked Lydia if she was up for doing the broadcast before we even came with our stuff."

"The show must go on boys," Lydia grabbed the microphone headset out of Scott's hands. "Let's do this."

**break***

Derek was driving home on the way back from town where he'd just had dinner. The drive was a long one and much to his despair, his radio pretty much sucked. It kept switching through stations. Frustrated, he drew his claws out and pressed one of the buttons. The radio stopped and seemed to get a clear sound and then he heard a voice, HER voice, speaking to him.

**Lydia:**

**Remember guys and girls out there listening to our radio broadcast tonight 'IF YOU'RE GOING THROUGH HELL KEEP ON GOING.' I mean your life might suck, you might not have the job you want, the person you want may not be in love with you, well you get the idea. Complaining about whatever is going wrong in your life isn't going to fix it. It isn't going to fix whatever hurts inside and trust me I would know because you all must have heard, I kind of got into a car accident a few days back. It's going to take a few weeks for me to heal, but all I can do is put a bright smile on my face because you never know who could be falling in love with you. "**

**Stiles:  
**

**You heard that guys, she's smiling over here at me and maybe I won't be able to keep myself from resisting her charm.  
**

**Lydia:  
**

**I'll be sure to let you all know how things turn out with Stilinski over here, but in the mean time Scott is going to play some music for you as I'm getting ready to sign off. Have a fine evening, this is Lydia Martin and you have been listening to Lydia After Dark.  
**

****cut**  
**

As soon as the broadcast cut off, Derek was doing a u-turn and heading to the Beacon Hills hospital. He had to see Lydia Martin.**  
**

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A/N: So I apologize for this being a really short chapter but I really need some help so that I can plan out how this story is going to go. Pretty please if you could be kind enough to review and leave some suggestions as to what should happen in following chapters then I would really appreciate that. Also I'd like to encourage you to send ideas for other oneshots or fanfics. I really love this couple 3 thanks a lot for stopping by to read


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